Registration is
the formal recognition of properties evaluated as significant. Preservation
benefits provided by various registration programs range from honorific
recognition to prohibition of demolition or alteration of included properties.
Some registration programs provide recognition and other broad benefits
while other programs authorize more specific forms of protection.

Standard
I. Registration Is Conducted According To Stated Procedures

Registration of
historic properties in the National Register of Historic Places must
be done in accordance with the National Register regulations published
in the Code of Federal Regulations, 36 CFR 60. Registration for other
lists or purposes follow an established process that is understood by
the public, particularly by those interests that may be affected by
registration.

Registers are used
for planning, research and treatment. They must contain adequate information
for users to locate a property and understand its significance. Additional
information may be appropriate depending on the intended use of the
register.

Standard
III. Registration Information Is Accessible to the Public

Information should
be readily available to the public and to government agencies responsible
for the preservation of historic properties and for other planning needs.

These Guidelines
link the Standards for Registration with more specific guidance and
technical information. They describe one approach to meeting the Standards
for Registration. Agencies, organizations, or individuals proposing
to approach registration differently may wish to review their approach
with the National Park Service.

Registration of
historic properties is the formal recognition of properties that have
been evaluated as significant according to written criteria. Registration
results in an official inventory or list that serves an administrative
function. A variety of benefits or forms of protection accrue to a registered
property, ranging from honorific recognition to prohibition of demolition
or alteration.

Some registration
programs provide recognition and other broad benefits or entitlement,
while other registrations of properties may, in addition, authorize
more specific forms of protection. The application of the registration
process should be a logical outgrowth of the same planning goals and
priorities that guided the identification and evaluation activities.
All registration programs should establish priorities for recognition
of their authorized range of properties; provide for confidentiality
of sensitive information; and establish a means of appealing the registration
or non-registration of a property.

Registration
Procedures

Explicit procedures
are essential because they are the means by which the public canunderstand andparticipate in the registration
process. Procedures for registration programs should be developed by
professionals in the field of historic preservation, in consultation
with those who will use or be affected by the program. Prior to taking
effect, procedures should be published or circulated for comment at
the governmental level at which they willbe used.
(Procedures for registration of properties in the National Register
of Historic Places and the National Historic Landmarks list, for example,
are published in the Federal Register.)

Any registration
program should include:

A professional
staff to prepare or assess the documentation,

A professional
review, independent of the nominating source, to provide an impartial
evaluation of the documented significance;

Adequate notice
to property owners, elected officials and the public about proposedregistrations and theeffects of listing,
if any, and

A means of public
participation.

Professional
Review: The registration process should include an independent
evaluation of the significance of the property and of the quality and
thoroughness of the documentation supporting that significance. Such
evaluation ensures that significance is adequately justified and that
registration documentation meets the technical requirements of the registration
process.

State and local
preservation programs, concerned with both public and private properties,
generally use a review board, panel or commission. This level of professional
review has proven to be effective in assessing the significance of properties
considered for registration.

Review boards and
other forms of independent review should include professionals in the
fields or disciplines included in the criteria; representatives of other
fields or disciplines may be desirable to reflect other values or aspects
of the register. Key personnel must be qualified by education, training
or experience to accomplish their designated duties (See the Professional
Qualifications Standards.)

The scope of the
independent review should be clearly stated in the registration procedures
and should not include issues outside the scope of the applicable criteria
for evaluation and other areas specified in the procedures. Generally,
independent reviewers should not be involved in any primary research
or analysis related to properties under consideration; this information
should be gathered and organized prior to review meetings. Documentation
presented to the reviewers should be made available to the public prior
to review meetings or public hearings. Registration of properties should
not take place until review of documentation has been completed.

Public Notice:
Adequate notice allows property owners, officials and other interested
parties to comment on proposed registrations prior to action by the
independent reviewers. The degree of protection and control provided
by a registration program may be a factor in determining what constitutes
adequate notice. For example, adequate notice of proposed inclusion
in honorific registers may be less complex than that for registration
that results in local controls on alteration or demolition of registered
properties.

Notice to elected
officials and the public is necessary to distribute information about
potential registrations of concern to planning and development interests.

Adequate notice
to property owners may be accomplished through means ranging from individual
notification by mail to publication of a public notice, depending on
the nature of the registration program and the number and character
of the properties involved.

Public notices and
owner notification about proposed registrations should include the dates
and times of public meetings and review meetings, the kinds of comments
that are appropriate, and how comments will be considered in the evaluation
process. The notice should also state where information can be obtained
about the registration program, the criteria used to evaluate properties
for inclusion, and the significance of specific properties under consideration.

The procedures should
include a means of public participation in the form of submission of
written comments or a review meeting open to the public or a public
hearing.

The procedures should
state time periods within which reviews, notices, comments, public hearings,
review meetings and appeals will occur. The time periods should be short
enough to allow for efficient recognition of historic properties but
also allow adequate time for public comment and participation by those
affected. Time periods may vary depending on whether activities are
carried out at the local, State, or national level. These time schedules
should be widely circulated so that the process is widely understood.

Appeal Process:
A means of appeal should be included in the registration process
to allow for reconsideration of a property's inclusion. Reasons for
appeal may range from existence of additional information about the
property supporting or refuting its significance to administrative or
procedural error. An appeal process should specify to whom an appeal
may be made and how the information that is provided will be evaluated.
The appeal procedures should also state the time limit, if any, on appealing
a decision and on consideration of information and issuance of a decision
by the appeal authority.

Documentation
on Registered Properties

Documentation requirements
should be carefully weighed to provide the information actually needed
to reach a registration decision and should be made public. It should
be made certain that identification and evaluation activities obtain
and record the information necessary for registration. Documentation
should be prepared in a standardized format and on materials that are
archivally stable and easy to store and retrieve.

Location:
The precise location of a historic property must be clearly identified.

Street address,
town or vicinity, and county should be provided. Properties should also
be located on maps; these may be USGS maps, county planning maps or
city base maps or real estate maps. A uniform system of noting location,
such as UTM grid points or longitude and latitude, should supplement
mapping. It is recommended that each registration process standardize
the preferred choice of maps appropriate to the scope of the process.

Description:
An accuratedescription of a property includes
a description of both the current and historical physical appearance
and condition of the property and notes the relevant property type(s)
for the applicable historic context(s). Discussion should include alterations,
deterioration, relocation and other changes to the property since its
period of significance.

Significance:
A statement of significance should explain why a property meets
the criteria for inclusion in the register to which it has been nominated.

This statement should
contain at least 3 elements:

Reference to
the relevant historic context(s);

Identification
of relevant property types within the context and their characteristics;
and

Justification
that the property under consideration has the characteristics required
to qualify it.

Relevant historic
contexts can be identified through reference to the preservation plan
or other documents where the contexts have been previously described
or can be provided by a narrative discussion of the context. (The development
of contexts and their use in evaluating properties are discussed in
the Guidelines for Preservation Planning and the Guidelines for Evaluation.)
A significant property type and its characteristics are identified either
through reference to the historic context(s) or by a narrative in the
documentation that describes historic contexts. Justification of a specific
property is made by systematic comparison of its characteristics to
those required for the property type.

Boundaries:
The delineation and justification of boundaries for a registered property
are important for future treatment activities. It is especially critical
when legal restraints or restrictions may result from the registration
of properties. Thus, boundaries should correspond as closely as possible
to the actual extent and configuration of the property and should be
carefully selected to encompass, but not exceed, the extent of the significant
resource(s). The selection of boundaries should reflect the significant
aspects of the property.

Arbitrary boundaries
should not be chosen for ease of description since this can result in
the inclusion of unrelated land or in exclusion of a portion of the
historic property. Present property lines should not be chosen as property
boundaries without careful analysis of whether they are appropriate
to the historic property. A single uniform boundary description and
acreage should not be applied to a group or class of properties (antebellum
plantations, for example) without examination of the actual extent of
each property. The selected boundaries should be justified as appropriate
to the historic property.

Boundaries should
be clearly and precisely described, using a verbal boundary description,
legal description, accurate sketch map, or lines drawn on base maps,
or a combination of these where needed to specify the limits of the
property being registered. When used, maps should show the location
of buildings, structures, sites or objects within the boundary.

Updating
Information on Registered Properties: A change in the condition
of the significant features of a property may require a change in the
official registration record. Alteration of a significant architectural
feature, for example, could mean that a property is no longer significant
for its architectural design.

Additional significance
of registered properties may be identified through development of new
historic contexts. Research may reveal that a property is significant
in other historic contexts or is significant at a higher level. For
example, a property previously recognized as of local significance could
be found to be of national significance.

A change in location
or condition of a registered property may mean that the property is
no longer significant for the reasons for which it was registered and
the property should be deleted from the registered list.

Public
Availability

Lists of registered
properties should be readily available for public use, and information
on registered properties should be distributed on a regular basis. Lists
of properties registered nationally are distributed through publication
in the Federal Register and to Congressional Offices and State Historic
Preservation Offices. Comprehensive information should be stored and
maintained for public use at designated national, State and local authorities
open to the public on a regular basis.

Information should
be retrievable by the property name, and location, historic context
or property type. The specific location of properties that may be threatened
by dissemination of that information must be withheld. These may include
fragile archeological properties or properties such as religious sites,
structures, or objects whose cultural value would be compromised by
public knowledge of the property location.

Guidelines for
Evaluating and Registering Historical Archeological Sites (WordPerfect
file or .zip
file). Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National
Register, History and Education, 1992, revised 1999.

How to Complete the National Register Form. National Register Division, National Park Service, US. Department of the Interior, 1977. Washington, D.C. Available through the Superintendent of Documents, US Government
Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. GPO Stock Number 024005- 00666-4.
This publication is the standard reference on the documentation requirements
of the National Register of Historic Places program.

How To Series.
Available through the National Register Branch, Interagency Resources
Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington,
DC 20240. These information sheets contain supplementary information about
interpreting the National Register criteria for evaluation and documentation
requirements of the National Register registration program. Titles include:

How To Establish
Boundaries for National Register Properties.

How To Evaluate
and Nominate Potential National Register Properties that Have Achieved
Significance Within the Last 50 Years.

How To Improve
the Quality of Photographs for National Register Nominations.

How To Apply
for Certification of Significance Under Section 2124 of the Tax Reform
Act of 1976.

How To Apply
for Certification of State and Local Statutes and Historic Districts.

How To Qualify
Historic Properties Under the New Federal Law Affecting Easements.